Sources : Revzilla / CT , SB , MPT , B & B , BDN , AP , Reuters , MSNW , MCN , AMD
NEWS
BRIEFS
Spanish luggage manufacturer SHAD was awarded the new International German Design Award 2017 for its SH36 cases in recognition of their “ innovative design ”. The accolade follows the International Red Dot award received for the design in 2015 .
Honda is starting a joint venture with Hitachi Automotive Systems to produce motors for electric vehicles . A “ memorandum of understanding ” was signed between the two Japanese giants in February for a Hitachinaka City ( Ibaraki ) based enterprise that will be jointly capitalised to the tune of an initial 5 billion yen ( approx . 40 euro ). It is reported that the new company will have sales and production subsidiaries in China and the United States .
Spanish EV manufacturer Torrot ( owner of Gas Gas ) leads sales in the Spanish 2-wheel electric sector for January . The new Torrot Muvi urban electric bikes are boosting sales for the company , with the Muvi City version heading sales with 56 units sold in January , out of a market total of 268 units of all brands sold .
BMW Motorrad says it has had a good start to 2017 globally , with a total of 7,503 motorcycles and maxiscooters delivered to customers in January , an increase of 0.2 % on the same month last year .
Parts Europe with more brands , more products and more pages for 2017
The Parts Europe catalogue has been growing every year since the company opened its stateof-the-art distribution facility at Wasserliesch , near Trier in Germany in 2008 , with the carefully chosen location allowing the company to supply almost all dealers in Europe within a day . Every year the Parts Europe Street catalogue
grows , and with it the staff at the European headquarters ( some 160 people ), making Parts Europe one of the largest distribution teams in Europe . This year , there are some 370 fewer pages in the main catalogue , but the company is also now offering a unique new dealer guide to tyres , service and workshop items , chemicals and lubricants that provides their dealers with an additional 580 pages of high turnover , high margin and often exclusive brands and product items . The ‘ Street ’ catalogue is still a beast though , at 1,624 deskbending pages of the most “ outstanding selection of top brands and new products in the industry ”. Available in print and online , they detail the complete Street inventory available from the European operation of the world ’ s largest parts , accessory , performance , tuning , service and apparel products distributor . A wholly-owned subsidiary of the US based LeMans Corporation , a 38 million euro investment has produced a 16,500 sq m distribution centre offering 750 brands and over 280,000 products . www . partseurope . eu
EICMA drops plan for extra public day
ANCMA , the Italian motorcycle industry trade association , has been forced into an embarrassing volte face after it failed to ensure it had sufficient backing for its plan to add an extra public attendance day to EICMA . The plan , which was the subject of what can be best described as a “ soft launch ”, would have seen the show extended with Monday , traditionally the last of the set-up days , becoming one of the two Press and Trade Visitor days , with the Wednesday fully open to the public , making for a fifth public day , with the show still open through Sunday . The move was not well received among the show ’ s parts , accessory , gear and apparel exhibitor community , with many small businesses considering whether the increased costs would be the final factor to make them decide to abandon the show in the face of increasingly unconvincing attendance profiles . The members of ANCMA , the motorcycle manufacturers and selected vendors with OE parts contracts , must have approved the plan , but the wider exhibitor community , whose booth fees subsidise those of the members , were clearly not happy . Several contacted IDN as well as the organisers , and it would appear that the show has had to curtail its ambitions . There had been some speculation that the move was a
precursor to returning the show to a biennial frequency . Either way , EICMA is now ( in theory ) back to being two Media / Trade / VIP visitor days , Tuesday and Wednesday , followed by four public days Thursday through Sunday , with opening to 10:00 pm on the Friday .